


Waldeinsamkeit

by jester_lavore



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Small Town, F/F, F/M, Gothic, I really love Molly, I tried my best to link the plot to the character's stories in the game, I'll tag characters as they appear - Freeform, It's very Gravity Falls, Like I REALLY love Molly, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Slow Burn, you'll probably be able to tell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 19:44:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15150470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jester_lavore/pseuds/jester_lavore
Summary: "(n) The feeling of being alone in the woods"When Beau is sent off to some remote boarding school in the middle of god-knows-where, she’s ready to plop her head down and die. The mountains are cold, the trees are looming, and the townspeople gossip about her in hushed whispers as she passes by. She expects to be bored out of her mind. What she doesn’t expect, however, is to be introduced into a ragtag group of individuals - some new to the town, some not - all tied together through uncertain circumstances. The woods harbour secrets and they’re about to uncover them, whether Beau wants to or not.





	Waldeinsamkeit

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a modern small-town AU where the Mighty Nine are all roughly senior age. This is my first ever fic, so if you have any tips I'd love to hear them! Enjoy :0

** Beau **

With a muffled shout, Beau was jolted awake.

The bus, which had screeched to an abrupt halt, was teetering dangerously on the edge of the narrow mountainside road. From Beau’s window-side view, all she could see was a steep downhill slope and an ocean of deep emerald pine trees stretched out as far as her eyes could see. The sudden sense of vertigo was enough to make herself feel queasy. At the front of the bus, the driver muttered a quiet apology, and the bus lurched off again just as quickly as it had stopped. Beau frowned. He hardly seemed old enough to walk, let alone embark on an hours-long journey into the wilderness.

Wiping off the saliva that had dripped from her mouth while sleeping, Beau clicked her phone on. The lack of signal was to be expected, though she was surprised to see how much time had passed since she’d grouchily boarded the bus earlier on in the day. She wondered what her father was doing now. _Probably happy to know that he’s gotten rid of me for good,_ she thought. 

She remembered when he’d first told her that he was sending her off to school in the remote mountain town of Whitty. It’d been right after one of their bigger arguments; ending as they always did - with shouting, swearing, and the occasional flying chair. She’d been sulking in her bedroom when he’d entered uninvited - like he always did - and dumped a suitcase on her bed. Told her that she was either going to pack herself or he was going to do it for her. 

In some strange way, perhaps Beau was happy that she was going. If anything, it’d mean she’d be free from him and his tyranny. _Though,_ she thought, pulling a face as she looked out the window, _there’s probably a reason he’s sent me_ ** _here._**

Worst of all, however, was not the town, nor her father. It was the fact that she’d been torn away from her martial arts training. Beau’s almost daily trips to Cobalt Soul - a seedy little gym down the street from her home - had been her lifeline over the past year, absolutely what had been keeping her sane. Sure, she wasn’t a big fan of the ‘enlightened’ or ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude that a few of the people there had, but it was easy to ignore them and get lost in the routine of training. It was easy for her to ignore _everything_ when she was training.

Damn, Beau was even going to miss the way her muscles constantly ached. She was sure that she’d be able to train wherever she was staying, but it wouldn’t be the same.

It wasn’t long before the bus shuddered to a halt. Beau hadn’t really been paying attention, but as she peered out of the window she realised that they’d arrived at the town. It was exactly as small and unassuming as she’d expected. Beginning with a few shops and buildings, the main street creeped forwards in hues of sepia. At the very front, hanging on what appeared to be it’s last hinge, was a faded red sign with the words ‘Welcome To Whitty’ printed in chipped white paint.

“Yeah, thanks,” Beau muttered under her breath, standing up to heave her suitcase out from above her.

The bus had been full when she’d first stepped on, but now it was near empty - save for a little old woman who gave Beau a warm smile as she hobbled off. Beau didn’t return the smile. Whitty must have been the last stop on the bus’ list. _Suitable for the middle of nowhere._

She hardly even gave the driver a second glance as she stepped off, dragging her suitcase down the stairs and onto the gravel with a loud series of clangs. Immediately the cold air hit her. It was early autumn but up in the heights it felt a lot more like winter, and Beau immediately regretted not wearing something warmer than her blue tank top and yoga pants. Looking around her, the few people she saw seemed to be donning scarves and coats. And there were _very_ few people. Despite the fact that she’d been dropped off on the main street, the most she could see was the old woman who’d gotten off the bus with her, a couple entering a bookstore and some guy smoking a cigarette. The sky above her head was grey and dismal, and it looked like a storm was well on it’s way.

“Jeez,” Beau shook her head. “It’s like Stephen King country up here.”

Eventually she decided that she should probably start making it to where she was lodging. The Soltryce Academy was a well-renowned school around these parts, and while it didn’t typically have boarding students, there was a few exceptions. Beau was sure that, given a few minutes on the phone her father would have been sure to negotiate a place for her, no matter what it took. She was staying in a room a little ways north from the school.

Thankfully, she’d looked up the location on Google Maps earlier, meaning that she didn’t have to dawdle for long in the cold and oncoming rain. Her suitcase was heavy, and it made an awful groaning noise as it bashed against the uneven floor, but she tried her best to hurry. All she wanted to do was to collapse onto whatever dusty bed they gave her and hibernate. 

As she walked, Beau started to take in her surroundings. She could tell exactly why her father had chosen Whitty as her new home. It was cold, dreary and _boring as hell._ She could count exactly twelve newspaper stalls on one road alone. _If you need that many newspapers, that definitely means there’s not enough going on in your own town._ There were also a really high number of old people. She didn't really get that.

It was only a few minutes later when she caught sight of the girl. She’d been circling around side streets, trying to remember the right direction and avoiding the piercing gaze of people wondering who she was. At first Beau nearly missed her. _Nearly_ being the key word, because she was rather hard to miss. She was walking down the opposite side of the street, jacket pulled up and head down. And she was _tall._ And she was _strong._ Beau wasn’t sure exactly how tall or strong, but she’d guess that the girl could easily throw her over her shoulder if she so pleased. Her hair was light - almost white - fading into dark tips, and while Beau couldn’t exactly make out her features from such a distance she looked completely and utterly familiar. 

It was a moment before she realised that she’d completely stopped in her tracks to stare, and while she knew that she was probably being rude, she couldn’t help it. She had a feeling that she knew this girl. Not like she’d run across her before and remembered her - _not that it would be hard._ No, this was different. Beau felt like she’d known her intimately. A friend, perhaps. 

Which was very surprising, because Beau had absolutely zero friends.

“Hey!” Before she could stop herself, she had already stepped forwards and called across the street. “Do I know you?”

There was nobody else around, so the girl had to know Beau was talking to her. However, she kept her head down and continued walking.

“Hey!” Beau called again. The girl turned the street corner. She was gone. “Awh, fuck.”

She frowned. If it were anybody else, Beau might have considered them rude, but there was something about this girl that made Beau think that she wasn’t ignoring her to be mean. She had no idea why she would have thought so, nor did she understand what had drawn her to the girl in the first place. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t responded. Beau would have had no idea what to say.

As it turned out, she didn’t have much long to contemplate it, because the sky gave one last ominous rumble and the heavens opened up.

“Awh, fuck,” she repeated.

**Jester**

  
****

This was officially the third best day of Jester’s life.

She’d decided to go for a walk. The sun had been shining bright - well, it had when she’d left home, but the weather in Whitty was notorious for changing at the drop of a hat - and the air had been calm and peaceful.It was the last day before school picked up again, and while Jester was eager to get back into the routine of lessons, she wanted to make the most of the freedom that would soon be taken away from her. Usually she liked to take her paints out into the woods and draw whatever caught her fancy. She had a whole sketchbook back home full of images; of the birds that liked to sit by the fallen birch tree, of the little clearing off the trail, few of the bubbling stream that snaked through the woods. However, on this particular day she decided to forgo the artistry and simply walk accompanied by the soft soundtrack of nature.

Jester was content just skipping along alone for a while. The woods weren’t dangerous - any animals that lived there tended to stray off from the path and reside deeper in the trees - and she’d could walk the trail with her eyes closed if she wanted to. But, as the weather started to take a turn for the worse and mist started to creep in around her, she decided it might be a good idea to turn back.

She’d lived in Whitty all of her life, and while she’d seen it a million times before, Jester couldn’t help but smile when she saw the rusty welcome sign out front. The mountain trail started just outside the entrance to the town, and as she left the cover of the treetops she could see the familiar sight of the shops and stores that she’d grown up with. Hardly anything had changed since she was born. Jester liked to compare Whitty to one of those old towns you’d see in postcards - the ones with the scenic view and the slogans saying things like ‘Missing You’ and ‘I Wish You Were Here’. Of course, Whitty would never feature in any of those postcards. It was hardly anything more than a pitstop for passing drivers - they might get a few tourists once or twice a year, coming for scenic views and hiking trails. A forgettable dot on the map, perhaps.

This fact alone was enough to make a stranger a near-phenomenal sighting, so when Jester caught sight of the girl stepping off the bus, she nearly combusted of excitement. 

The appearance of. the bus itself was unusual. If few people came to Whitty, fewer people left. The nearest city was more than an hour away, and most people were happy in their little bubble. Why would you need to leave when you had the world in miniature right here? There was everything; supermarkets, libraries, a cinema - even Whitty’s famed ocean-themed diner, the Ruby of the Sea. The latter was run by Jester’s beloved mother, and while she may have been a _teeny_ bit biased, it was absolutely the best place in the world.

The girl, however, seemed to be arriving rather than returning. She looked rather disgruntled as she stepped off the bus, heaving an overpacked suitcase behind her. She had dark skin, hair pulled into a lazy topknot and was wearing eyeliner that looked like it had been smudged and probably a few days old. Her clothes were absolutely inappropriate for the cool weather, and she seemed around Jester’s age. 

Needless to say, Jester was very close to running up and pouncing on her immediately. 

She knew better, however. The girl looked like she really wasn’t in the mood to be talked to. She hardly took a glance back, missing Jester entirely as she trudged down the road, a sullen expression on her face. Jester’s mind raced with a million questions. _Is she going to Soltryce too? Where is she from? Is she a serial killer? A celebrity? Ooh, maybe she’s a spy!_

Knowing that she would probably not survive much longer if she didn’t have somebody to discuss this with, Jester fished around into her coat and pulled out her phone. The case was rather garish - bright glittery pink with a printed unicorn hamster on the back (a creature of Jester’s own heart and design) - but she loved it all the same. Three clicks later, and she was on call.

“Fjord! There’s someone new! Here! In town!”

“Woah there,” the familiar voice came from from the other line. “Repeat that. I can hardly understand you.”

“I was walking on the trail - you know, like I always do - expect this time I decided that I wasn’t going to bring my paints because I didn’t really feel like it today, I dunno I wanted to hang out in nature - _anyways_ \- I was walking and then the bus came, which is weird because the bus is _never_ here-”

“Jester…” Fjord’s reply was pointed.

“Right! So I saw this girl get off the bus! She looked really new, like she had a bag and everything!”

“Oh,” Fjord sounded surprised. “It’s not often we get somebody new around these parts.”

“ _Riiight?!_ ” Jester was practically bouncing up and down where she was standing. “Meet me at Pumat’s! I want to talk about it!”  


“Now? Jester, it looks like it’s about to rain.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, okay, see you soon, _bye_!”

“ _Jester,_ ” came the exasperated reply. Ignoring it, Jester clicked the end call button and began to race into town.

 

-

 

“Do you think she’ll go to school with us?” She asked, half an hour later. They were sitting in the corner of The Invulnerable Vagrant - known by most people as ‘Pumat’s’ after the tall, slow-speaking shopkeep. The store itself was a bit of a mess - selling just about everything from baked goods to machine parts. The pair sat near the back on a wooden table, and Jester currently attacking a pastry as she spoke.

“I have no idea,” Fjord sighed. He was drenched from head to toe after being caught in the downpour on his way to the store, and had been kindly lent a blanket from Pumat to help him dry off. Jester had to admit, it was rather amusing to see her tall, rather attractive (if she did say herself) friend wrapped in a bright pink fuzzy blanket. “If she’s boarding, I suppose I’ll be able to tell you.”  


“Right!” Jester perked up. Fjord - being an orphan himself - spent most of the year at the boarding house on the outskirts of town, and only left Whitty on holidays to visit distant family by the coast. “You know, it’s funny. When I saw her first, I could have sworn I’d met her before.”

“Odd. Wonder what her deal is,” Fjord furrowed his brow.“Though, if my information is correct, she’s not the only new person in town.”

Jester dropped her fork in shock. The loud clatter lead to a low ‘careful’ from Pumat across the store.

‘Seriously?! How did you hear that? There are _multiple_ new people?”

Fjord chuckled at her excitement. “Sure. Apparently there was a pair spotted in town yesterday. Real odd looking, from what I can tell.”

“This is the best day ever!”

“They might be tourists, you know.”

“Here?” Jester raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, right. _Oh!_ Do you think we should ask them to hang out with us?”

“Well, I don't mind getting to know some new people - just as long as they’re not shady, or-”

“Says _you_ ,” Jester rolled her eyes. “You’re, like, the shadiest person I know!”

“Just because I have weird dreams sometimes, it doesn’t mean that I’m _shady_!”

As the day came to a close and the pair continued to bicker, Jester couldn’t help but smile a little. Between three strangers in town, this year should prove to be a very interesting one indeed.

**Caleb**

 

It usually took exactly twenty minutes for the bus to go from his house to school.

Caleb knew that because he’d been riding it for the past three years, and there had never - not once - been a disturbance. It could be nineteen minutes on a good day, twenty-one if the weather was bad, but for the most part it was consistent. Caleb liked that. If he could be prepared for the bus ride - if he knew what was going to happen - it meant that he could be prepared for the rest of the day.

And so, on the first day back at the Soltryce, he climbed onto the school bus, slunk into his usual seat and pulled open a book, ready for another day of routine and trying his best to be ignored. For the most part, it worked well. His hand-me-down clothes and quiet attitude meant that he faded into the backdrop of academy life. It worked well - Caleb was perfectly content with being a wallflower. He already had one friend, he didn’t need any more, and he had better things to do then skip class and smoke in the courtyard. He needed to spend his time studying.

Despite the fact that the sun hadn’t quite risen yet and the bus was still dim, Caleb drew his attention away from the other students shuffling onto the bus and onto the book that sat in his lap. He knew that reading in the darkness was awful and he was probably going to destroy his eyesight if he continued, but this book was just _so interesting_ and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. 

The bus stopped. Traffic light.

Stopped again. Pedestrian crossing.

Stopped.

Stopped?

Caleb frowned, bringing his gaze up from the page he had been intently studying. Had the bus stopped because there was something blocking the path? That would be the only conclusion he could come to - after all, the bus didn’t usually just stop out of the blue like this. Outside the window, he could see that they had stopped by the caravan park. There were always a few lying out around the field - ready for tourists to pass by if they so wished. It was too dark to see what was going on. He gave a low sigh. It was already the first day, and his routine was slightly off kilter. He turned back to his book.

And then he heard the bus door hiss open.

Frowning harder, Caleb looked up again. P _erhaps the driver had gotten up to see what the hold-up was?_

It seemed, however, that he was completely wrong in his judgement. As the door slid completely open, somebody - a student - stepped onto the bus. For a moment it was too dark to see what they looked like, but as they stepped down the isle, Caleb got a better view of them. It was a boy, perhaps around Caleb’s own age. And he looked _odd._ He had curly hair and while he wore the same uniform as the rest of them, he was adorned in jewellery from head to toe. Caleb could have sworn he’d seen a tattoo on his hand.

The boy, catching Caleb’s gaze, winked and found a seat a bit ahead.

The bus continued forwards, and while he wanted to get back to his book, Caleb found he couldn’t. He was too distracted. A new person? In Whitty? That was practically unheard of. _Nobody gets in and out of this dead-end town,_ he thought. Apart from this boy, apparently. This boy who - for some inexplicable reason - Caleb felt like he’d met before.

 

_ Damn it. _  Now he'd need to re-calculate how long it took.

 

-

 

Nott was waiting for him outside the school. She sat where she usually did, on top of one of the tall brick walls, her short legs dangling off the side. Once she saw him she gave a crooked smile and leapt off, landing nimbly on her two feet. Caleb was always surprised at how agile she was. If he’d tried to jump off the wall, he would have just landed flat on his face.

“Ready for another round?” 

She had to look up to speak to him. Nott was young - very young, in fact - but her bright mind and ability to think quickly had meant she was allowed to jump up to his year much faster than normal. Like him, she wore the Soltryce uniform, though the shirt was slightly too long for her, and her stringy black hair fell over her face, covering large eyes and a sharp-toothed mouth. Despite her age and appearance, most people tended to ignore Nott, just like they did Caleb. The two, naturally, had gravitated towards each other for this very reason, and eventually had formed a pretty tight bond. Caleb really liked Nott. He didn’t really have many other friends. 

“I suppose,” he said, looking around to see if he could spot the boy from the bus. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen - lost amongst the sea of students that were slowly making their way into the school gates. The Soltryce Academy fit right into the rest of Whitty - an old brick building with a high gothic roof and a cold appearance. The trees surrounding the building were fading into shades of orange and Caleb shivered in anticipation of how cold it would be inside.

“Did you see the new person?” Nott asked, leaning against the wall. They tended to hang out in front of the school before lessons began rather than pile inside - neither was a very big fan of crowds and the constantloud student chatter. 

“The one on my bus? He was odd looking, wasn’t he?”  


“No,” Nott shook her head. “It was a girl. She arrived just a little bit after me. Caleb, you should have seen her. So tall! I was scared.”

“A girl?” Caleb frowned. “You mean there’s two of them?”

“Maybe?”  
  
“That doesn’t seem likely to me.”

“Well,” Nott paused. “The school _is_ growing in popularity. After Professor Ikithon got famous and people found out he worked here, maybe they wanted to come too?”

Caleb’s face darkened at the mention of the name. “I hope not.”

Nott, catching herself, looked at him in concern. “Are you okay?”

“ _Ja._ ”

She didn’t appear to be convinced, but seemed to decide to let it go. “Well, either way, new students are going to cause a lot of ruckus.”

Caleb sighed. “Let’s hope not _too_ much ruckus.” He liked his days boring, thank you very much.


End file.
